Ayurveda is the traditional Indian medical and life system which is
believed to be more than 5000 years old. It was conceived and developed
by the rishis or sages over a period of many centuries through
observations, experimentations, discussions, and meditations.
Apparently, these rishis used to meet, exchange notes, so that one
could build on the work of another, an ancient analogue of the patent
system. For at least a couple of thousand years, the
body of knowledge was passed on orally, from teacher to disciple. Around the period of
5th century BC, it was written down in Sanskrit, the
ancient language of India.
The
Ayurveda manuals were based on
Atharva veda,
the oldest Indian text which was supposedly written in 1500 BC, and
were written by three sages: Charaka, Sushruta, and Vagbhatta. These
manuals give detailed descriptions of various Ayuvedic practices.
Charaka wrote down more than 500 remedies and Sushruta listed more than
700 plant based medicines. After it was documented, Ayurveda flourished
for hundreds of years after that, and was used by rich and poor alike.
After reading the entire literature on Ayurveda, I am sure you will
agree that the rishis who conceived it were very intelligent, wise, and
sensitive, especially to
Mother Nature.
The way they have conceptualized the human body, and all living beings
for that matter, and the simplicity of it is proof of their
intelligence. Their idea that one should totally surrender oneself to
Mother Nature and live the way we are supposed to live is proof of
their wisdom. And the incredibly minute observations that they have
included in Ayurveda are proof of their sensitivity.
Ayurveda is
composed of two words: ayur meaning life, and veda meaning knowledge.
So you can think of Ayurveda as the "knowledge of life” or the "science
of life”. The main emphasis of Ayurveda is on prevention of diseases.
And that is where it differs with
modern medicine, where the emphasis
is on treating diseases. Ayurveda also puts a lot of emphasis on
rejuvenation of our body, and increasing our
life span.
And the purpose of increasing the life span is so that it gives us more
time to do good deeds, share the wisdom that comes or ideally should
come with age, and leave the world a better place than we inherited,
and not exactly for having wild sex at age 70. Not that there’s
anything wrong with it, but I don’t think that’s what the rishis
visualized.
Ayurveda considers us to be an indivisible and
integral part of nature, and not different from nature. In fact,
Ayurveda has a much broader view than that. It says that the entire
universe is made up of one singular absolute. Every living being is
made up of the same elements and forces that the universe is made up
of, and the principles that are applicable to the universe are
applicable to every living being. Again, this is different compared to
modern medicine which looks at our body somewhat in isolation. Not only
that, even parts or a group of parts within the body are looked at in
isolation in modern medicine.
Ayurveda further believes that we
should live in harmony with Mother Nature. And the word "harmony” is
used not just to mean that we should not destroy nature or disturb its
balance. That we should obviously not do; if we do, we will have to
face its disastrous consequences without a doubt. Harmony means to live
completely "in tune” with nature and change our lifestyle as we go
through the daily changes, seasonal changes, and changes in our life.
It is almost as if we are doing a tango (a type of dance) with Mother
Nature, and she is leading the way. As a follower, you have to follow
her footsteps for the dance to come off well; if you don’t, you will go
out of step or fall, and needless to say, suffer. This is again quite
different as compared to modern medicine, which doesn’t take into
account direct effects of Mother Nature on our health at all.
While
the aim of Ayurveda is
prevention of diseases, it also has detailed
descriptions of what to do in case we do fall sick, which is bound to
happen from time to time. Ayurveda even has detailed descriptions of
shalya-kriya or surgery. And in order to treat diseases, Ayurveda
relies completely on nature with a firm belief that Mother Nature has
all the answers that we are looking for. The reliance of modern
medicines, however, is on pharmaceutical medicines that are
manufactured in laboratories, and that is one other point of difference.
In
Ayurveda, the mind and body not only influence each other, they are
each other, and together form the mind-body. The universal
consciousness is an intelligent and aware ocean of energy that gives
rise to the physical world that we perceive through our senses.
So that was a quick introduction of Ayurveda.
Written by Prashant Karhade
http://www.gofornaturalremedies.com
